Organisers are hoping to make the biggest sporting event in the history of independent history a massive festival. To achieve this they have teamed up with public broadcaster RTV Slovenija to put up fan zones in the four cities that will host the tournament between 4 and 22 September.

The fan zones will be open from morning until 2 AM and will be accessible also to those fans who do not have tickets. Along with live screenings of matches, they will provide a wide array of entertainment.

Located by the Stožice Arena in Ljubljana, the central Krekov trg square in Celje, Ukmarjev trg square in Koper and Stara Sava central market in Jesenice, the fan zones will serve food and drinks, along with concerts and selection of games.

Well-known Slovenia acts who are scheduled to perform at the fan zones include rock groups Big Foot Mama, Mi2 and Nude, pop groups Tabu and Kingston, and folk group Modrijani, the organisers of EuroBasket 2013 told the press on Friday.

The fan zones will also feature a live radio broadcast from Val 202, a station operated by public broadcaster RTV Slovenija.

The head of the EuroBasket fan zones Aleš Antauer said that the aim is to provide basketball fans and people in general an opportunity to have a good time during the tournament.

Apart from the musical acts, the entertainment programme will also feature acrobatic groups, stand-up comedians and special thematic evening featuring culture from the nations participating in the tournament.